Hopefully the government will legislate how and when moteliers can take a holiday ;-)
The Holidays Act review will be welcomed by moteliers.
Employment law was declared out of bounds early on in the recent Job Summit, so it is pleasing that as a first step, the Holidays Act is to be reviewed by the government.
The current Act was not written for real-world conditions of the motel and greater tourism industries. The one size fits all Act was focused on the assumption that all employees worked 9 to 5, had weekends off and took holidays in neat 7-day bundles.
The Holidays Act simply does not fit with the real-life variable demands of the motel industry. The Act is too complex and ambiguous. It is not flexible to cater for differing work arrangements and this has resulted in significant compliance costs for moteliers.
The terms of reference for the review include:
- the calculation of relevant daily pay
- trading annual leave for cash at the employee's request, and
- transferring the observance of public holidays
"Motella" will be making our own submission.
The 5-member working group conducting the review has 2 obligatory union stooges. We hope that the other members have had enough experience with small business needs and can bring some balance to the group's final recommendations. We are nervously holding our breath!
The members are:
Paul Mackay has been Business NZ's Employment Relations Policy Manager since January 2006. He has significant experience of policy and legislature analysis in government, state owned enterprises and the private sector. In 2004, he developed and presented Carter Holt Harvey's submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee on the Holidays Amendment Bill.
Helen Kelly has been president of the NZCTU since 2007. Her responsibilities in that role include economic development, employment law, social partnership, ACC, pay and employment equity and climate change.
James Ritchie has been National Secretary of the New Zealand Dairy Workers Union since 2003. He has 25 years experience as a union official and is a member of the NZCTU National Affiliates Council. He served as Workers' chair on the Committee on Good Employment at the International Labour Organisation 2008 conference.
Philip Doak is Senior Legal Counsel to the Air New Zealand group of companies advising on all aspects of employment relations law. Air NZ has been involved in litigation in respect of the Holidays Act 2003, including in the Supreme Court. He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.
Peter Kiely is Kiely Thompson Caisley's senior partner and has practised in employment law and industrial relations since 1980. He has legal and academic expertise on all aspects of the Holidays Act 2003, authoring ‘The Guide to Holidays and Leave' in 2006. In 1997, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Employment Law at Victoria University of Wellington.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Press Release: Employers and Manufacturers Association Northern
3 June, 2009
Employers welcome Holidays Act review
The Holidays Act has been one the single biggest problems for employers and a thorough review is warmly welcomed, says David Lowe, Employment Services Manager for the Northern Employers and Manufacturers Association.
"The Act is based on antiquated work practices which assume people work 9-5 and take holidays in periods of one week," Mr Lowe said.
"Employers often find ways of allowing holidays that are fair to both employees and the business, even though they may not technically comply with the law.
"Ensuring the holidays law reflects the modern New Zealand workplace, and is easily understood and complied with, is a complex job.
"Addressing the problems of the Holidays Act is another major step towards making it attractive and easier for businesses to employ people.
"Each member of the review group is well qualified for the task."
Source: Click HERE
